Back To The Dark Days Of Unionism

Things have come
to a pretty pass for New Zealand business when our
liberty rests in the hands of Hon Jim Anderton. Alas, that
appears to be the situation.

Last week, Cabinet
reportedly signed off a number of amendments to the
Employment Relations Act. Only three Ministers - Mr
Anderton, Paul Swain and John Tamihere - balked at the
proposals, which will take New Zealand further toward the
dark old days of union control, national awards,
compulsory unionism, multi-employer contracts, and a
requirement for employers to maintain pay and conditions or
pay redundancy when a business is sold.

The latter -
dubbed the `Margaret Wilson Slavery Clause' - was dropped
from the 2000 Bill after the `winter of discontent'. But,
like California's would-be Governor, it will be back.
Hasta la vista free enterprise.

Unlike Rachel
Hunter's haircare, this won't happen overnight - but it
will happen, and will move the labour market from
collectivisation to unionisation. The rights of workers
will be sold off for the rights of union bosses.

So
what does the Government have in store for workers and
firms? According to one source, the Government's package
of retrograde reforms includes:

Compulsory unionism
lite? Hundreds of thousands of workers voted with their
feet when compulsory unionism died, either cancelling their
membership or not bothering to join. Ever since, union
bosses have moaned about individuals claiming the same
`benefits' negotiated for members. The proposed changes
are expected to include a clause to have union dues
deducted from all employees - whether union members or
not - if bosses and unions agree. What say will individual
workers have? None. They won't be asked. Welcome to
the new corporatist state.

Widening the `Unjustified
Dismissal' Net. The `unjustified dismissal' clause is a
huge headache for employers, and it's about to get worse.
Unjustified dismissal currently refers to `procedural
fairness' - courts look at whether proper processes have
been followed. Under the proposed changes, `unjustified'
will go beyond process, taking into account whether a
dismissal is `fair'. So even if you follow the dismissal
process to the letter, because a worker is a problem
gambler, chronic alcoholic, has six dependent children and a
broken-down car, it would be `unfair' to dismiss him in the
circumstances therefore it's `unjustified'.

Multi-Employer Contracts. Unions have been very sore that
the ERA did not deliver national awards, and have lobbied
Labour to correct this. The new Bill will make
multi-employer contracts much more feasible and more
difficult to block. Say `hello' to Cook Strait ferry
strikes every school holidays, `no room at the inn' signs
in the hospitality industry and higher prices for
clothing - especially kids' clothes.

Protection of
Terms and Conditions - Til Death Do Us Part? This was
dumped from the ERA in 2000, but obviously not forgotten.
Known as the "transfer of undertakings", it means that if
you buy a business you must hire existing staff on the
same terms and conditions, or pay redundancy. This
threatens the dynamics of business enterprise and
efficiency. There are usually sound reasons for business
take-overs - a new owner might work to improve a
struggling company's performance, thus securing its
long-term viability. This change will put stop that.
Why would any firm want to take over another firm when its
hands will be tied because wage rates and conditions are
fixed by Government fiat?

Compulsory Arbitration -
Three's Company. At present, if a dispute between
employer and union is unresolved, it just sits there. Under
the new law, arbitration will be compulsory, but not
binding. Sounds crazy but, in effect, the threat of an
outsider making an arbitrary decision - and the
associated compliance costs for the employer - means
employers will have to settle disputes anyway. Even if they
don't settle, it involves more red tape, higher costs and
less focus on making their business prosper.

Thirty-Day Rule. Under current legislation, the only
employees who start out on a collective contract are
those who are specifically named. These people then have
30 days to decide whether to continue on a collective or
switch to an individual contract. Under the proposed
changes, classes of workers - instead of individuals - will
be named. So, the PSA might negotiate with Treasury for all
clerks to be included in the collective contract for the
first 30 days - whether they want to or not. These
people would then have to remove themselves from the
collective at the end of that period if they wanted an
individual contract. This is an infringement of their right
to choose their employment arrangements. What would people
say if the Government passed a law that all new
homeowners and renters must sign up with one particular
electricity company for the first 30 days, and then could
choose either that company or another one at the end of
that period? Would that be acceptable? Hardly.

On
their own, these changes won't mean the end of the golden
weather for New Zealand business. However, kicking in on
top of changes to the Holidays Act, Matt Robson's Four
Weeks Annual Leave Bill, and the new OSH laws, the new
ERA Bill makes mockery of the Government's stated aim to
get back to the top half of the OECD.

This is `death by
a 1,000 cuts' and a further move toward the
`Germanification' of our labour market policies - at the
very time Germany is abandoning such policies to combat
its 10.4 percent unemployment rate!

When the Prime
Minister chaired an OECD conference in Europe in May, a
Herald journalist heard her tell an audience that the New
Zealand labour market was heavily deregulated. The
journalist did not report this, in case future interviews
with the PM were jeopardised.

The Prime Minister likes
to see herself as a strong leader. Unfortunately, when it
comes to standing up to union bosses, she acts more like
a 90-pound weakling. No price is too high when it comes to
keeping the peace with union bosses - not even trading away
the long-term interests of New Zealand workers and
firms.

There is more to come, with pay equity next off
the blocks. Now, more than ever before, it is crucial
for New Zealand business to speak with one voice and
oppose union-led demands to re-regulate the labour
market.

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